Overdue

E.B. White's Charlotte's Web is a beloved classic for plenty of reasons. It's got bloodthirsty spiders, hungry hungry rats, and some terrific, radiant, humble pig named Wilbur. But somehow Craig hadn't read it until THIS WEEK.Other talking points include: otter tacos, animal sentience, and the saddest feelings anyone's ever felt about a spider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if the Earth were flat and also being carried by four gigantic elephants who were all standing on the back of a giant space turtle? Us too! Which is why Terry Pratchett's Discworld series remains relevant 35 years after its inception in this week's book, The Colour of Magic.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Audrey Niffenegger's novel The Time Traveler's Wife is equal parts romance and sci-fi. It's a love story about the limits of free will and the power of destiny. It is also a way hornier book than we gave it credit for.Talking points include James Cameron's avatar, time-travelling hi-jinks, and chrono-impairment as a metaphor for absence, loss, and the gravitational pull of love.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For February's bonus episode, we spin, twirl, and jump our way through a conversation about Meg Howrey's The Cranes Dance. This book about sisterhood and ambition draws heavily on the author's experience as a successful professional dancer. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Octavia Butler’s Kindred is ostensibly a sci-fi/fantasy novel about time travel, but it also draws heavily from the tradition of first-person slave narratives. Butler’s characters, whether white slaveowners, the slaves themselves, or the time travelers in between are all allowed ample nuance, even as Butler puts the brutality and inhumanity of the era on full display. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The podcast discusses N.K. Jemisin's novel The Fifth Season, focusing on its premise of serial apocalypses and oppressed earth mages. They also touch on anniversaries, Super Nintendo RPGs, internet trolls, political manipulation, the importance of N.K. Jemisin's win at the Hugo awards, a new podcast called Cereal Box, the concept of the fifth season and its connection to periodic apocalypses, the concept of race and evolutionary abilities in the book, parenting and motherhood in difficult circumstances, and the theme of changing identities.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Americanah is about a lot of things—it's a love story, it's an immigrant story, it's a story about the Obama moment—but it has the most to say about race. It's about being black in America, but not from the perspective of a black American. It's about how race works in different cultures, and among different people from the same culture. It's about hair. And it's a fascinating read, every step of the way.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jesmyn Ward's second novel Salvage the Bones is the story of a family in rural Mississippi in the twelve days leading up to Hurricane Katrina's landfall. Equal parts intimate and mythic in proportion, Salvage the Bones is a moving portrait of perseverance. Join us for a discussion of feline biological warfare, Medea Medea Medea, and unfortunate canines. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the wake of Ursula K. Le Guin's tragic passing earlier this month, this week's episode covers her Nebula-award winning The Dispossessed. Part of the "Hainish Cycle," the book deals with capitalism, socialism, anarchism, and human nature in ways that resonate strongly in our current moment. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses sparked an International Incident. The hosts discuss the excitement and controversy of the Super Bowl. They explore the transformations and themes in the book including immigration and identity. They also delve into the magical realism and character development. The controversy surrounding the book and its portrayal of faith are discussed. The impact of political turmoil, assimilation, and colonialism is examined.